(picture from Mental Health Foundation Exec Summary 2006)

I coined this term recently while debating the reasons why some people seem unable to take on board what my partner termed “common sense”. We are bombarded with information as to how good nutrition and moderate exercise can prevent and combat many diseases such as heart, disease, cancers, those caused by obesity eg type-2 diabetes etc.

And yet, people continue to ignore this advice. They make extremely unwise choices. I’m not talking about the occasional blow-out meal or even binge-drinking weekend. It’s the relentless daily diet of processed foodstuffs consumed, despite the evidence seen in mirrors and provided by ever-tightening waistbands.

Someone we know, feeling a blood-sugar dip, had driven a round trip of 3 miles to buy a hot chocolate drink from McD’s. “That was an expensive hot chocolate” I had replied. They explained they had done it for “quickness”, and after retrying to make my point, I realised we didn’t appear to be speaking the same language at all. Why was that?

In addition to being assailed by positive nutritional advice, we are also battered by marketing from those food manufacturers and retailers. The ability to filter these messages and choose what will provide the best outcome is what I now call Nutrition Intelligence or Nutrition IQ.

If the baseline is 100, that would be someone who eats adequately, not gaining or losing weight or muscle and fat. They would have an intake of sufficient nutrients to maintain a basically healthy body. I guess there would be freely available and affordable foods and water.

Of course, when there are adverse factors and nutritional needs change, an above-100 score would be needed. Also, many people would wish to aim for optimal health – not just coping. I believe we mostly have that innate intelligence but the above-mentioned marketing negates it. As does the lack of relevant education and guidance.

This latter part is where my role fits into the equation as I can provide support until somebody’s own knowledge has caught up with their needs.

I deliberately use the term “somebody”, as I think it is a whole-body knowledge development that may be required. Our gut and other organs tell us what is needed – and we just need to listen!

At last! This has today made the main item on the BBC news. What they don’t say is that you’ll also be living a healthier life – and a happier one.

“Eating loads of fruit and vegetables – 10 portions a day – may give us longer lives, say researchers.

The study, by Imperial College London, calculated such eating habits could prevent 7.8 million premature deaths each year.

The team also identified specific fruit and veg that reduced the risk of cancer and heart disease.

The analysis showed even small amounts had a health boon, but more is even better.

A portion counts as 80g (3oz) of fruit or veg – the equivalent of a small banana, a pear or three heaped teaspoons of spinach or peas.

The conclusions were made by pooling data on 95 separate studies, involving two million people’s eating habits.

Lower risks of cancer were linked to eating:

green veg (eg spinach)

yellow veg (eg peppers)

cruciferous vegetables (eg cauliflower).

Lower risks of heart disease and strokes were linked to eating:

apples

pears

citrus fruits

salads

green leafy vegetables (eg lettuce)

cruciferous veg

The results, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, also assessed the risk of dying before your time.

Compared with eating no fruit or veg a day, it showed:

200g cut the risk of cardiovascular disease by 13% while 800g cut the risk by 28%

200g cut the risk of cancer by 4%, while 800g cut the risk by 13%

200g cut the risk of a premature death by 15%, while 800g cut the risk by 31%

The researchers do not know if eating even more fruit and veg would have even greater health benefits as there is little evidence out there to review.

Dr Dagfinn Aune, one of the researchers, said: “Fruit and vegetables have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and to boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system.

“This may be due to the complex network of nutrients they hold.

“For instance, they contain many antioxidants, which may reduce DNA damage and lead to a reduction in cancer risk.”

However, many people struggle to even eat the five a day (400g) recommended by the World Health Organization.

In the UK, only about one in three people eats enough.

Dr Aune said the findings did not mean the five-a-day message needed to change.

He told the BBC: “There are many different considerations if changing policy, it’s not just the health effects – is it feasible?

“But our findings are quite clear in that they do support five a day, but there are even some further benefits for higher intakes.”

Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “The five-a-day target is the foundation of a healthy balanced diet and is an achievable way to help prevent a number of diseases.

“Whilst consuming more than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day may be desirable… adding pressure to consume more fruit and vegetables creates an unrealistic expectation.”

Not all of the 95 studies that were analysed fully accounted for other aspects of lifestyle, such as exercise levels, that could also play a role in prolonging lives.

We are all too familiar with the ‘eat five a day’ phrase. Yes, we’re talking about fruit and vegetables. We are told time and time again how important it is to get your five a day for a thriving body and mind and the stats do back it up. Eating more vegetables reduces heart disease, obesity, type two diabetes and can even protect against certain types of cancers. So it’s a no brainer really – but how can you actually get more fruit and vegetables in your diet?

1. Make fresh juices and smoothies.

This is such an easy win when it comes to getting a large hit of fruit and veg into your system AND tastes delicious. For ultimate veggie hit, go for a green machine packed with spinach, kale, avocado, apple and ginger. Or if your palate prefers something sweeter, blend some berries with mango, almond milk and honey. Essentially – any combination works, so have fun experimenting and enjoying so much vitamin goodness!

2. Replace carbs with vegetables

Another very easy change that you could make to your favourite meals. Replace pasta with courgetti or another vegetable spiralised – butternut squash works particularly well too. Swap in your potatoes for a big pile of greens – perhaps steamed kale, spinach and chard sprinkled with sesame seeds! Instead of rice, why not chop up lots of colourful root vegetables and roast them in the oven with herbs and olive oil. If you find that vegetables don’t fill you up as much as carbs, remember you can eat MORE veg! Low calorie content means more free reign to eat the vegetables you love – winning!

3. Create delicious salads

Explore salad options – there are thousands. Whether you’ve got a warm salad, cold salad, dressing or no dressing, I think you’ll be surprised at how many options there are out there. Salads can be made up of so many elements; we’re not talking lettuce and a bit of cucumber here! Roasted vegetables could compliment a bed of spinach with sweet balsamic vinegar. Or crispy kale with chestnuts, bacon and roasted sweet potato. Try any combo with any dressing and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds for a speedy iron hit.

4. Eat vegetables that are in season.

Every month there are particular fruit and veg, which are ripe, ready and in season. Essentially – they are at their prime! The best seasonal veg in January and February are carrots, kale, cabbage, leeks, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. These alone provide so many vegetable options – cauliflower rice for example or sautéed cabbage and kale with garlic.

5. Find different ways to eat old favourites.

Sure you like potatoes – but have you tried straying away from your usual boiled pots and making them into a delicious salad with herbs and cherry tomatoes? You might be a fan of cucumber, but have you thrown them together with sweet orange pieces and roasted nuts in a salad? There are so many ways to eat your favourite veg. Go out of your way to find out how you could eat them differently! Think outside the box!

6. Make sweet treats with a dose of fruit and vegetable.

This is a sneaky way to get the good stuff into your body. I recently whipped up some brownies and chucked in a punnet and a half of raspberries. Simple!!

7. Eat chunk dips

I am obsessed with a chunky guacamole or salsa. If you make these dips fresh, they are PACKED with vegetable goodness. Make a guacamole from scratch with avocado, limes, ground pepper and cherry tomatoes or cut up beef tomatoes to create a salsa. Don’t stop there – you could also make your own beetroot dip or hummus.

8. Go vegetarian one day a week

This will force you to be more creative with your vegetables! Cook up a vegetarian alternative to your favourite meal, such as curry or shepherds pie. Cut out the bacon and sausages in your morning breakfast and replace with mushrooms and tomatoes. Go veggie for the day and you’ll be full of way more than your five a day!!

9. Try vegetables you’ve never eaten before!

Have you ever cooked with chicory, radishes, turnips or artichokes? Those are just some of the more unusual vegetables but it could be as simple as eating an aubergine if you’ve never tried one before. Open your taste buds to more veggie variation!

10. Add spinach

You can add spinach to pretty much anything to boost your vitamin intake. Smoothies, pasta, breakfast, curries, stews, salads – you name it, you can add it!

Looking like a kind of rubbery cauliflower, kefir ‘grains’ are a never-ending source of healthy probiotics for our digestive system. Unlike commercial live cultures,they contain no added sugar or flavourings (unless you put them in) and will colonise your gut to provide an aid to digestion, keep a healthy balance of gut flora, and provide you with added nutrients.

Originating many hundreds, if not thousands of years ago in the Caucasus Mountains, Kefir is a symbiotic relationship between about 30 different bacteria and fungi. Used to preserve milk before refrigeration etc, they ferment the milk and thereby convert milk sugars (lactose) to lactic and other acids. Depending on the ratio of culture to milk, and the length of time it is left to ferment, milder or stronger tasting kefir is obtained.

I first obtained about a teaspoonful of minute grains 5 years ago and it has been growing and thriving ever since. I have given loads away (every time you renew the milk the grains multiply also). Since then I haven’t needed to buy yoghurt, sour cream and hardly any cream. It can even be strained (or take advantage of the natural separation) and used like cream cheese.

Kefir is a source of tryptophan which the body uses to make seratonin. It also increases other available nutrients (details in the links below).

It’s virtually indestructible; lives happily at room temperature and hibernates in the fridge if I go on holiday or don’t need any more for a while.

The strained kefir tastes even better if left to mature for a further 24 hours or so.

This site will take years to read. It’s hardly ever edited and is full of really corny jokes. I think Dom is probably the world authority on Kefir:

OK, I have just made that up. Faced with yet another carrier-bag full of runner beans I searched for an easier way of storing them for later. This looks delicious and reading elsewhere that the puree is freezable I have cooked & roughly-liquidized. Won’t add garlic etc before cooking as it doesn’t always freeze well.

I work both as a Counsellor and a nutritionist – with a deliberate small n. I am so convinced that poor diet impacts on our mental health as well as our physical health that I recommend and now supply a top-quality, bio-available whole food supplement. I do not have sufficient knowledge to prescribe foods for medical conditions but I do know that feeding our bodies with a wide range of phytonutrients on a daily basis helps bridge the gap between what we do eat and what we should eat.

Obvious when you think about it but sadly totally ignored most of the time. Many people simply do not realise the full effect of their poor diet. Apart from acknowledging a sugar rush, or the opposite; that blood-sugar levels are low, most people just think they’re hungry or, not-hungry; that food is just fuel with a few random vitamins for specific ailments eg vitamin C to prevent scurvy. And didn’t that die out with pirates and sailing ships?

Our dietary and nutritional requirements change on a daily basis depending on what activities we choose to complete and the challenges we put our bodies through. This doesn’t just mean whether or not we run a marathon that day but whether we are stressed; exposed to pollution; get sunburnt; drink alcohol; etc etc.

Without a varied, balanced, nutrient-rich diet we will always be compromising our bodies. Continued over along period of time that will be detrimental to good health; physical and mental, and may even cause reduced life expectancy.

Instead, a healthy diet including a good quality bio-available supplement such as JuicePlus+ ( www.nutrition-support.com ) must be the obvious solution.

My early years were lived before the widespread use of processed food. My grandparents were farmers and I had a healthy diet albeit rather an unexciting one. I’ve therefore always known that “you have to eat your greens”, so first developed an interest in infant nutrition as a breastfeeding counsellor, and from that expanding into general counselling was a natural progression.

Our physical health and emotions are intimately linked; we feel emotions because the brain produces chemicals that are released into the bloodstream. E.g; when we are stressed Cortisol is released.

We are also exposed to free radicals on a daily basis – unstable molecules that can alter or damage the cells in our bodies. We simply can’t escape them because not only do our bodies produce them as part of the normal metabolism of oxygen cells (or oxidation)during exercise, but we are also exposed to them through pollution, alcohol, sunlight, stress, and even unhealthy fried or processed foods.

Free radicals (or pro-oxidant molecules) are unstable because they are missing an electron. In order to achieve stability, they steal electrons from normal molecules, and in the process damage those cells and their DNA. This process creates new free radicals that go on the prowl for electrons to strip away from other normal, stable molecules. It’s a chain reaction that, as you can imagine, damages countless cells along the way.

Usually that’s not a problem; the cells just die. But free radical damage has been blamed for various diseases and conditions associated with ageing, including wrinkles and age spots, macular degeneration, cataracts, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Enter antioxidants — the body’s best defence against free radicals. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, preventing them from doing more damage. They do this by donating electrons, stabilizing them and cutting off the chain reaction of cell destruction before it gets out of control. Your body produces some antioxidants on its own, and you also get an abundance by eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Without adequate nutrition as part of a healthy body it is difficult to feel good about oneself and to actually produce the chemical combinations that enable us to have emotions: endorphins; serotonin; etc. We live in a busy age and most people struggle to manage the minimum requirement of 5 different fruit & vegetables a day, let alone the recommended 9 – 13. That’s why I recommend and now sell Juice Plus+ whole-food supplements. They provide a continual bridge between what we should eat and what we actually do eat. The daily support of the Premium range provides the phytonutrients from 2.5 kgs of 26 fruits, vegetables & berries. The water, salts, sugar & most of the fibre have been removed in a Swiss process that is second-to-none for quality and effectiveness. (scroll to bottom of page and choose “science/bioavailablility).

Like counselling, it often takes hindsight to see the full range of benefits. I often say to new clients that we won’t really know what counselling is until during or after our work together. Similarly, until we’ve been ill, or not been ill, we can’t know or imagine what it would have been like had our immune system not functioned as it did. Is £1.92 a day expensive? If it enables you to remain healthy and feel in tip-top condition, or avoid 1 or 5 or 10 years in a nursing home in your old age, does it become a really impressive investment? And that’s just the money side of things – good health is actually priceless.